Breakfast links: But that’s crazy

Refunds and apologies

WMATA announced that it will issue refunds to all people who used SmarTrip cards to ride the Blue, Orange and Silver lines on Friday. A power outage resulted in single tracking and residual delays for much of the day and further aggravated riders after Thursday’s derailment. (Post)

All for one and one for all

The goal to simplify transit access by unifying the fare payment systems in the US is getting closer to becoming a reality through numerous mobile phone applications. It’s been done in Europe but the localized approach in the U.S. held up efforts here. (CityLab)

Almost hit

Most of the bicycle crash reports from MPD do not adequately show what happened and police reports never reflect near misses. That’s why DDOT is using a crowd sourcing tool to get better data on crashes in the District. (WAMU)

The Mayor’s duplex

DC doesn’t have a mansion for its Mayor. Mayor Bowser lives in a duplex. The family who shares her wall are refugees from Colombia. They like the extra security after fleeing their home country. (Post)

Filling the void

Since Arlington County canceled the Columbia Pike streetcar. Various tech and transit startup companies like Bridj and Split could fill the transit void. These companies often serve the last mile gap in transit. (ARLnow)

That’s nuts

The Mr. Peanut peanutmobile was in Arlington on Thursday. Could it replace the failed streetcar? (BeyondDC)

Who really needs the help

New York City gave extra funding to the city’s Business Improvement Districts but the funds raised questions about equality. Would the funding be more effective if it was focused on BIDs in lower income communities? (NextCity)